Steam-boiler furnace and an apparatus for feeding air to furnaces.



F. H. DILLON & M. L. HENDERSON. STEAM BOILER FURNACE AND AN APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AIR T0 FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.9 9]3- Patented J 1113 18, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1- ATTORNEY WITNESSES.-

. F. H. DILLON & M. L. HENDERSON.

STEAM BOILER FURNACE AND AN APPARATUS FOR FEEDIN APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9. I913.

G AIR T0 FURNACES.

Pat-61116111115 18, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

T 1H. w. h- 11 :1 I I 1 I I 1 1 |lI R i VENTOR.

WITNESSES:

A TTORNEYS ms mmms PZYERS C41.FNOYILLITNOUWASHINGYCN. nv cv Continuation in part of application Serial No.779,216, filed July 12, 1913.

' 9, 1913. Serial No. 805,641;

UNITED STATES PATENT onnicn.

FRANK H. DILLON AND MARCUS L. HENDERSON, OF ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN- ORS OF ONE-THIRD T0 ELY & BUSH, A COPARTNERSHIP COMPOSED OF NATHAN D.

ELY AND ARTHUR G. BUSH, BOTH OF DAVENPORT, IOWA.

STEAM-BOILER FURNACE AND AN I APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AIR TO FURNACES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK H. DILLON and MARCUS L. HENDERSON, citizens'of the United States, residing at Rock Island, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Steam-Boiler Furnaces and an Apparatus for Feeding Air to Furnaces, of which the followingis a specification.

Our invention relates to the methods and" apparatus for providing a complete combus tion of the fuel and gases and consuming the smoke in steam boiler furnaces in which the fuel is burned upon grate bars in the ordinary way, either with or without a draft from below, and in which air is fed to the furnace over the fire by a plurality of air tubes or inlets, and the objects of our invene tion are: to provide for such a distribution of the air over the entire surface of the fire as to produce a practically complete combustion of the smoke and gases; to provide means for holding the air and the gases produced by the burning coal in contact'with the incandescent bed of coals until thoroughly mixed and consumed; to provide means for forced draft when required and means for regulating the admission of air to the fire box; to simplify boiler furnaces and avoid the necessity of the use of brick arches to assist in consuming the gases; to allow the use of large exhausts through the smoke stacks on steam engines and thus avoid back pressure on the cylinders. We attain these objects by the means illus trated in the accompanying drawings in which: v

Figure l is a vertical elevation of a pair of steam boilers and furnace with the front removed, and shows in dotted lines the rod, 38, connecting the dampers, 24 and the lever, 39, for opening or closing them. Fig. 2 is-a' top or plan view-with the cover of the middle manifold removed and showing, a portion of the covers of the side manifolds broken away. The covers of the manifold are shown in detail in'Fig. 6 and'comprise a stationary plate, 3, provided with openings and a similar sliding plate, 3 pro vided with corresponding openings and when the sliding plate'is moved lengthwise in one direction, the openings register and give free ingress to the air and when Specification of Letters Patent.-

. moved in the opposite direction, the openend' provided with a handle to operate the. shdmg plate.

Fig. 3 is a detail of the air valve or damper, 24*, which is sli'dingly mounted at the end of each manifold ad- 25 secured in the manifold. Both plates are provided with a series of corresponding openlngs whlch are'opened when moved in one direction and closed when moved in the opposite direction by the lever, 39, and the lmk, 38.. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation on the. line, w, w, y, z of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is'a top view of the upper end of the air inlets 2, and shows the socket, 5, formed to receive a male wrench'for turning or adjusting the position of the air inlet tubes. Fig. 6 is a detail of the manifold cover and slide closlng same. Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the middle line of one ofthe air tubes, v2.

In Fig. 1, 1 represents the furnace or fire box; :7 the grate bars, and 8 the ash pit. Boilers, 33,,are mounted in the usual way with arch plates, 32,connecting the boilers with each other or with the side walls of the furnace, and they may be mounted upon lugs or otherwise secured as desired. A manifold is placed on top of the arch plate between the boiler-sand one on each side of the boilers. The air inlets or tubes, 2, are secured in seats formed in the bottom plates of the manifolds by flanges or collars, 4, formed on the upper endsof the air tubes, 2. These air tubes are preferably made of cast iron, as we have found that material most satisfactory forthe purpose, but it is. obvious tha'tthey maybe formed of more than one piece and may have tipsof fire clay or other fire resisting'material if desired.-

The .lower'end of each air tube, 2, is

slightly curvedi'toward the center of the ad jacent boiler so as to direct the air current and such gases as may'bedrawn along therewith toward the middle of the bed of fire descent coals, and may be turned slightly backward as shown in Fig. 4 to improve the draft. The lower end ofeach air tube, 2, may be somewhat enlarged if desired to increase its fire resisting ability. The extent Patented July 18, 1916.

This application filed December v jacentto a corresponding stationary plate and hold same in contact with the incanv of the curve and the size and throw of the nozzle may be increased or diminished to fit the requirements of any particular case. It is essential to direct the currents of air and steam downward and toward the mid dle of the fire box. This results in a proper mixture of air and gases and gathers and holds the mixed air and gases in contact with the coals while burning. The series of air tubes on opposite sides of the same boiler are preferably staggered as shown in Fig. 2, so as to provide a better mixture of the air and gases. The length of the air tubes, 2, may be regulated to meet the require ments of any particular case, and in practice, we find it preferable to have the tubes at the front end of the boiler extending nearer to the grate bars than at the rear end, as shown in Fig. 4.

The manifolds, 3, are formed 'of sheet or plate iron or other suitable material, and are preferably tapered. A steam jet, 37, is provided at the larger end of the manifold to aid in drawing air into the manifold through the openings in the plate or damper, 24:. The manifold is also provided with a steam pipe, 40, havingjets, l1, extending downward toward or just into the upper end of the air tubes, 2-, and valves are provided by which steam can be admitted through the single jets, 37, orthrough the pipes, 40, and the plurality of jets, 4 1, as desired. When the plurality of jets, 41, is used, it is preferable to open the cover slide 3", of the manifold to furnish free access of air to the air tubes, 2.

The arrangement of our device does not require the air to be heated before being fed to the furnace. Any desired form of grate bars may be used and the ash pit may be tight or provided with dampers in the usual way. VVeprefer an ash pit with tight doors so that no air can get to the fire from below but our device can be used with or without draft from below as desired. In experience we have found that it works better without draft from below and that it works better with the grate well stepped up with ashes. Our device is applicable to boiler furnaces of almost any kind, including the ordinary fire and water tube boilers, and may be adapted for use in vertical boilers, and heating furnaces. Under favorable conditions forced draft will not be required after the fire is well started but when desired, the steam jet may be used to any extent for forced draft. The number and size of the various air fines and nozzles may be varied to suit the requirements of the particular case, but should be propor tioned to the grate surface and the draft.

VV'e are aware that various forms of down draft and means of supplying air to a furnace above the fire level have been used with more or less success but so far as We are advised, none of the forms heretofore in use have been sufficiently successful to go into practical use and the form shown in our specifications is practical and effective as it secures a more perfect mixture of the air and gases than any form heretofore in use, and the effect of the downward and inward direction given the air as it is fed into the furnace is important in gathering and holding the gases and air in contact with the burning fuel upon the grates until consumed. Our device also has advantages in the way of simplicity and ease of adjusting and replacing parts over other forms heretofore in use.

WVhat we claim is:

1. In a steam boiler furnace, suitable supports secured at each side of the boiler in the top of the furnace, a series of air tubes seated in each support extending downward to a point a suitable distance above the grate bars, the lower end of each tube being formed to deflect the air current toward the middle of the firebox under the boiler.

2. In a steam boiler fu'rnace, suitable supports secured at each side of the boiler in the top of the furnace, a series of air tubes seated in each support extending downward to a point a suitable distance above the grate bars, and having their lower ends curved inwardly and formed to deflect the air current downward and toward the middle of the grates.

3. In a steam boiler furnace, suitable supports secured at "each side of the boiler at the 100 top of the furnace carrying staggered series 'of air tubes secured therein, the lower end of "ea'ch air tube being formed to direct the air current downward and toward the middle of the grates.

4. In a steam boiler furnace, suitable supports secured 'ateach side of the boiler in the top of the furnace, each support carrying a series of air tubes secured therein, the

tubes of the opposite series being staggeredly 11o arranged, and having the lower ends of the air passage therein -,'curved to deflect the air toward the middle of the grates.

5. In a steam boiler furnace, suitable supports secured in'the top of the furnace at each side of the boiler, each support carrying a series of air tubes secured therein and the tubes of the opposite series being staggeredly arranged, and a nozzle formed at the lower end of each tube to deflect the air stream or current toward the middle of the grates.

'6. In a "steam boiler furnace, the combination with a plurality of suitable supports secured near the tops of the boilers, of a manifold secured upon each support, a plurality of openings formed in the bottom plate of each manifold and its support, air inlet tubes each having its upper end suitably secured in its respective opening in the bottom plate and its lower end extending into the furnace and terminating above the grate bars with its lower end curved to defleet the air current toward the middle of the grate bars, a sliding plate secured in the manifold adjacent the manifold cover and having openings corresponding to similar openings formed in the cover of the manifold, and means for opening and closing the sliding plates.

7. In a steam boiler furnace, the combination with a plurality of suitable supports secured near the top of the boilers, of a manifold secured upon each support, a plurality of openings formed in the bottom plate of each manifold and its support, an air inlet or supply tube secured in each opening and having its lower end extending into the furnace and terminating above the grate bars, a nozzle formed upon the lower end of each tube to deflect the air toward the middle of the grate bars, and means for regulating the admission of air to the manifold.

8. In a steam boiler furnace, the combination with a suitable support secured at each side of the boiler in the top of the furnace, of a manifold secured upon each support, air inlet tubes secured in each opening and having their lower ends extending into the furnace and terminating a suitable distance I above the grate bars, each tube having its lower end curved inwardly to deflect its air current toward the middle of the grate bars,

a sliding plate secured in each manifold adjacent the manifold cover and having openings corresponding to similar openings formed in the cover of the manifold, and means for opening and closing the sliding plate.

9. In a steam boiler furnace, the combination with a plurality of suitable supports secured near the tops of the boilers, of a manifold secured upon each support, a plurality of openings formed in the bottom plate of each manifold and its support, air inlet tubes each having its upper end suitably secured in its respective opening in the bottom'plate and its lower end extending into the furnace and terminating above the grate bars withits lower end curved to deflect the air current toward the middle of the grate bars, a sliding plate secured in the manifold adjacent the manifold cover and 7 having openings corresponding to similar openings formed in the cover of the manifold, means for opening and closing the sliding plates, a steam pipe secured in each manifold having steam jets openingrrespectively into the upper ends of the air supply tubes, and means for regulating the admission of steam through the jets.

FRANK H. DILLON.

, MARCUS L. HENDERSON. Witnesses:

-ALBERT W. HAMANN,

- WINNIFRED JAMES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

